February 15, 2026
January 12, 2026
Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)
As the evening deepens over the quiet seaside, the rhythm of the waves is gently sounding all around and makes me feel the secret beating of the earth. I realize that I am standing alone here at this moment as a minute and illusionary being within the infinite universe.
The calm waves, lighted dully by the setting sun, are washing the sandy shore one after another. The setting sun continues painting the ever-changing tableau of a majestic winter seascape before night's curtain falls finally.
Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)
The city of Kamakura was the ancient capital with a seafront, and its maritime landscape shaped its essential character. This old city of a military aristocracy was a natural fortress surrounded by mountains on its three sides (the east, north, and west) and the sea of Sagami Bay.
The sea also served as the gateway for overseas trade and cultural exchange. In the medieval period, Yuigahama and Zaimokuza Beach (the coastal zone) of Kamakura flourished as a commercial port, and its Wakae Island is Japan's oldest port construction site. This small island is man-made and is currently situated beneath the surface of the sea.
Development of seaborne trade advanced during the period of Hojo Yoshitoki (1183-1242). He was the third Shikken (regent) of Kamakura Bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun).
Various commodities and knowledge were imported from the Southern Sung Dynasty in China. Along with such trades, Zen monks from the Southern Song Dynasty arrived in Kamakura to convey the teachings of Zen.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zen Buddhism flourished, with the Rinzai School at its core, where Koan meditation became the mainstream practice.
The visiting Zen monk "Rankei Doryu" introduced authentic Zen Buddhism to Japan. The teachings of Southern Song Zen exerted a profound influence on Japan (particularly the Kamakura samurai), playing a decisive role in the subsequent development of Zen Buddhism of Japan, including the establishment of the representative Zen temples in Kamakura.
The central dogmas of Zen teachings, namely, Mujo (impermanence), Muga (selflessness), and Hudoshin (unshakable mind), were received sincerely by the Samurai warriors who lived in the harsh world of the war as the moral codes of Samurai (Bushi-do).
Zen provided “a mind unafraid of death,” “concentration on the present moment,” and “selfless, quiet courage,” which brought about the ideal spiritual principle for Bushi warriors (Samurai).
It can be said that the seashore of Kamakura welcomed Zen Buddhism, and its sturdy spirituality illuminated the path of life for Japan's Bushi warriors.
Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)
The sea has no boundaries, and its end is invisible. When faced with this vastness, people must feel the smallness of their own existence, yet conversely, their minds feel liberated from the narrow prison of the soul.
The sight of the sunset sinking into the sea is the moment when the finite (myself) and the infinite (the sea and sky) melt into one completely. Gradually, the contour of myself fades out, and the boundary between myself and the endless world disappears.
The ever-changing scenery, where the sea, the sky, the clouds, and the sinking sun blend together, quietly conveys the sense that “everything is interconnected” in the whole universe.
It may be an experience of awaking parallel to the "Ichinyo" (absolute oneness) described in the Zen teachings.
Before sunset: Yuigahama-beach (Kamakura)
Dusk gradually falls over the sea, and the low murmur of waves and breezes invites me to the evening shore.
I stand still on the beach at eventide, watching the sun slowly sinking beyond the far horizon and the evening sky glowing with beautiful golden hues.
The limitless seascape arouses the enigmatic nostalgia for the distant, unknown birthplace from which I might have arrived at this seacoast of the earth.
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